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Your Earl Grey brewing tips

I haven't had a cup of Earl Grey in a long time. I bought a box of Tazo while running errands just to see if I want to get serious about it. I figure the directions on the box are useless - what are your favorite brewing methods?
 
3g of tea per "cup" (those are small, by the way. Something around 4-6oz, depending on who you ask).

Boiling water.

5 minute steep time (less if it's cut black tea)

Tazo is not quite the McDonald's of tea, but it's nothing to write home about either.

disclaimer: I am a coffee guy first who has studied up a bit on tea out of necessity. I am by no means a tea expert, so I apologize in advance if someone comes behind me to correct bad advice.
 
I haven't had a bad cup of earl grey. Twinnings is readily available here, I just heat the water, steep the bag for 3 to 5 minutes and enjoy. The funny thing is that I didn't know about the tea until I saw the Star Trek Generations movie. Piccard was in a fantasy world with his wife and children and she offered a "cup of earl grey?' I thought she said "old grey" and tried to find out what the heck they were talking about. I figured it out and have been in love with it ever since.
 
I have had Twinings and other brands.

My favorite Earl Grey, by far, is Stash. I too am a coffee drinker who discovered Earl Grey via Jean Luc Picard.

I do nothing fancy, a simple 5 minute steep with a teabag.
 
I prefer loose leaf earl grey tea. Swish around some hot water in whatever container you use whether it be a mug, glass, or pot, then pour it out before putting in the tea and water. Let it brew for 3 to 5 minutes. Do the same hot water swish with your cup, or just leave some in there then pour it out, and then pour the tea into your cup with a strainer. I like a teeny bit of milk and some sugar. It's not a life changing tip, but it keeps things hotter for longer and I think brews the tea better so when you're brewing it the heat in the water isn't being used to heat up the container.
 
I have had Twinings and other brands.

My favorite Earl Grey, by far, is Stash. I too am a coffee drinker who discovered Earl Grey via Jean Luc Picard.

I do nothing fancy, a simple 5 minute steep with a teabag.

Sweet, I thought I was the only one. :thumbup:
 
first toss the tea from megga buck$
find a peets tea or coffee bean
and get some of earl grey they sell
much more burgamont(sp) and a better flavor imho
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
My wife is a big fan of Tazo. :huh:
I use her tea to rinse and warm my cup before I prepare a proper cup. :lol:
 
You might consider checking out Adagio.com. They sell quite a bit of this type of tea and have a pretty solid rep. They also sell all sorts of other teas and tea brewing tools.

I'm using a Bodum Yoyo infuser at my desk at work. It might be right up your alley should you want to get away from lousy bagged fannings and into loose tea.
 
I'm using a Bodum Yoyo infuser at my desk at work. It might be right up your alley should you want to get away from lousy bagged fannings and into loose tea.

I'm definitely going in the loose tea direction. I have strayed away from hot tea for a long time, preferring coffee, and left my wife to be the tea (green) geek of the house. (She's very Zen, so maybe "geek" isn't the right word.) I want an afternoon beverage shake-up, so to speak. Coffee is losing its taste. That tells me I'm overloading. At any rate, the Bodum infuser looks excellent, and I am a fan of their presses.

Adagio looks great. I'm going to sample their Early Grey Bravo. The Tazo will do until that arrives, especially with the tips in this thread.
 
I haven't had a bad cup of earl grey. Twinnings is readily available here, I just heat the water, steep the bag for 3 to 5 minutes and enjoy. The funny thing is that I didn't know about the tea until I saw the Star Trek Generations movie. Piccard was in a fantasy world with his wife and children and she offered a "cup of earl grey?' I thought she said "old grey" and tried to find out what the heck they were talking about. I figured it out and have been in love with it ever since.

Lol you aren't a true Earl Grey/star trek fan until you buy one of the cups he always drank it in too! :blush:
 
A four to five minute infusion with boiling water is how I steep any Earl Grey tea. You might want to start with the shorter infusion and increase the time if you want it stronger. And I find that Earl Grey is one tea that must have a bit of sugar.
 
The Hitchhikers Guide to Earl Grey:
Douglas Adams said:
One or two Americans have asked me why it is that the English like tea so much, which never seems to them to be a very good drink. To understand, you have to know how to make it properly.

There is a very simple principle to the making of tea and it's this - to get the proper flavour of tea, the water has to be boiling (not boiled) when it hits the tea leaves. If it's merely hot then the tea will be insipid. That's why we English have these odd rituals, such as warming the teapot first (so as not to cause the boiling water to cool down too fast as it hits the pot). And that's why the American habit of bringing a teacup, a tea bag and a pot of hot water to the table is merely the perfect way of making a thin, pale, watery cup of tea that nobody in their right mind would want to drink. The Americans are all mystified about why the English make such a big thing out of tea because most Americans have never had a good cup of tea. That's why they don't understand. In fact the truth of the matter is that most English people don't know how to make tea any more either, and most people drink cheap instant coffee instead, which is a pity, and gives Americans the impression that the English are just generally clueless about hot stimulants.

So the best advice I can give to an American arriving in England is this. Go to Marks and Spencer and buy a packet of Earl Grey tea. Go back to where you're staying and boil a kettle of water. While it is coming to the boil, open the sealed packet and sniff. Careful - you may feel a bit dizzy, but this is in fact perfectly legal. When the kettle has boiled, pour a little of it into a tea pot, swirl it around and tip it out again. Put a couple (or three, depending on the size of the pot) of tea bags into the pot (If I was really trying to lead you into the paths of righteousness I would tell you to use free leaves rather than bags, but let's just take this in easy stages). Bring the kettle back up to the boil, and then pour the boiling water as quickly as you can into the pot. Let it stand for two or three minutes, and then pour it into a cup. Some people will tell you that you shouldn't have milk with Earl Grey, just a slice of lemon. Screw them. I like it with milk. If you think you will like it with milk then it's probably best to put some milk into the bottom of the cup before you pour in the tea.1 If you pour milk into a cup of hot tea you will scald the milk. If you think you will prefer it with a slice of lemon then, well, add a slice of lemon.

Drink it. After a few moments you will begin to think that the place you've come to isn't maybe quite so strange and crazy after all.

1 This is socially incorrect. The socially correct way of pouring tea is to put the milk in after the tea. Social correctness has traditionally had nothing whatever to do with reason, logic or physics. In fact, in England it is generally considered socially incorrect to know stuff or think about things. It's worth bearing this in mind when visiting.
 
Loose tea is the preferred way to go, but a good quality tea in bags is good too. It's like the old adage you get what you pay for....a lot of tea in bags in the states is just "dust". If you can find an English " Brown Betty" teapot these are traditional, and work great for loose teas.

1. Put cold, fresh water in your tea kettle on the stove to boil.
2. When the kettle has nearly boiled pur some water in your teapot to warm it.
3. Put kettle back on stove to boil.
4.Pour water out of teapot and add 1tsp. loose tea for each cup +1tsp for the pot.
5. Add boiling water to the teapot, cover with a tea towel to keep warm while steeping.
6. Let tea steep for five minutes.
7. Pour tea from pot into cups through a tea strainer.
8. Add milk and sugar if desired (don't use cream or whole milk, 2% is good)
9. Sit back, and enjoy your "Cuppa" reflect on days of British empire if desired. :euro:
 
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